SWEDEN-DENMARK: New Crown Princess

His family’s failing for falling in love has long been a heartache to toothy old Gustaf V, King of Sweden and of the Goths and Wends. Romance has already induced one of his brothers and two of his grandsons to renounce their royal rights and marry commoners. The women of his family, however, behave better about such things. His niece, the Princess Astrid, is now Queen of the Belgians, and last week his pretty 25-year-old granddaughter, Princess Ingrid, made him feel every inch a King by marrying with much pomp & ceremony the 6-ft. 5-in. heir to the throne of Denmark, hulking, kindly 36-year-old Crown Prince Frederick.

Never had Stockholm seen so much royalty, felt such excitement. By train and boat they kept piling in until there was scarcely a room in the palace or in any hotel to be had. Nearly out of his mind was Stockholm’s chief of police. Law-abiding Swedes are accustomed to see their own royal family shop, go to the theatre, drive about town completely unprotected. Suddenly the chief of police was called upon to produce so many escorts and bodyguards for visiting royalty that he nearly ran out of detectives.

Three Kings were there: Oscar Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, Charles Frederick Albert Alexander William Christian of Denmark, and Leopold Philippe Charles Albert Meinrad Hubertus Marie Miguel of the Belgians. For the first time since the heavy-booted German army marched through his father’s capital in 1914, King Leopold was brought face to face with the onetime Crown Prince of Germany. It was carefully arranged that their suites should be at opposite ends of the Stockholm palace, and court attendants were in a dither with excitement. But when they met in the Town Hall, nothing happened.

Notably absent was Christian’s brother, King Haakon of Norway, but he sent his son, Crown Prince Olaf to represent him, and his two toddling granddaughters Princesses Ragnhild, 4, and Astrid, 3, were the only bridesmaids. Marie of Rumania, to everyone’s relief, did not come.

Wedding presents included a 17th Century brooch of diamonds and pearls once owned by the father of Frederick the Great, from King Gustaf; a modern diamond brooch from Crown Prince Gustaf Adolf, father of the bride; a sapphire pendant from George V; and five kroner in cash ($1.25) from an unknown Swedish girl. Because blue is Sweden’s royal color and Princess Ingrid is passionately addicted to larkspur, a plane piled high with larkspur flew over from London to decorate the wedding church, Stockholm’s 13th Century Storkyrka. Leading a concert of Danish and Swedish songs before all the wedding guests, Conductor Sven Lizell of the Stockholm Choral Society dropped dead of heart failure.

The wedding day was warm and clear. Before the Storkyrka, where all the Kings descending from Napoleon’s Marshal Bernadotte have been crowned, stood Sweden’s famed Grenadiers of the Guard in the original deerskin uniforms, jack boots, silver breastplates and cocked hats first presented by Russia’s Catherine the Great.

Princess Ingrid wore no jewels. On her head was a small wreath of myrtle. She wore the lace and carefully preserved orange blossoms that her mother had worn at her own wedding 30 years ago. Her bouquet was a small bunch of lilies of the valley. Sober Crown Prince Frederick wore the blue-black uniform of a Danish naval officer with a blue sash. To the chancel rail came lantern-jawed Archbishop Erling Eidem, and after him the Princess repeated:

“I, Ingrid, take you Frederick, my lawful husband, to love you through sorrow and pleasure and as a symbol I accept from you this ring.”

After the wedding breakfast came a drive through cheering streets to the Castle of Haga where Denmark’s new Crown Princess laid her bridal flowers of lilies and myrtle on her mother’s grave. The Danish royal yacht Dannebrog was waiting to take them back to Denmark.

All Scandinavian royalty lead simple, democratic lives, but perhaps nowhere in the world but Copenhagen do socialites find out what train to take by merely telephoning the Crown Prince. Crown Prince Frederick’s private number is listed in Copenhagen’s public book, and his particular hobby is memorizing railroad time tables. It is his proud boast that he knows the departure, fare, distance and time to other European capitals of every good train out of Copenhagen, gladly advises his friends. Music is his other great hobby; in the Royal Opera in Copenhagen he follows every performance with his own score; frequently conducts at concerts.

Because of his marriage, the Danish Parliament will raise his allowance from $10,512 to $26,280 a year. Princess Ingrid will get $2,452 of her own to keep herself in pocket money.